Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans · Spice
Top 10 pairings
A glossy, egg-shaped tropical seed, grated to a warm, sweet, woody-spicy powder for béchamel, eggnog and pumpkin pie. The lacy crimson web that wraps it is a second spice, mace.
Picking a good onedrag
Just grated, loud and oilyFaded, dusty, smells of nothing
Whole in the jarEveryday bestWhole seeds keep for years and are the only guard against fake ground nutmeg.
Grate and smellSweet and woody, a moment later
Whole or groundWhole a year or two, still loud
Heft and scratchDense, scratch oily but paler
Look at the seedDuller, wrinkled, a chipped end